March will be full of 3D printing madness here at 3DPrint.com. Over the course of the month, we are offering four interactive online workshops that each include 90 minutes of two livestream sessions with Q&A. The dynamic programs for each course will be filled with expert advice on key principles, case studies, and interactive lessons from industry leaders. Courses include:

In the second session of Advanced Design for 3D Printing, speaker Dr. Laura Taalman (aka mathgrrl), a mathematician and 3D designer, will go over coding for 3D printing. She’ll show you what tools are out there and how they impact the future of design.

Frank Medina Ph.D., consulting technical director at EWI and associate professor of mechanical engineering at UTEP, will cover key considerations for printing in metal in the second session of Essentials of 3D Printing with Metal. He’ll share current technologies and materials, processing factors that impact resolution, potential flaws and porosity, and methods to achieve desired surface finish, durability, and reliability in service environments.

As we continue to add to the speaker rosters, so stay tuned!

The courses are cumulative, so you can take one, two, three, or all four courses depending on what you want to learn for your 3D printing ventures. Take advantage of early bird rates and register now.

Thank you to our Beginner Design for 3D Printing and Advanced Design for 3D Printing sponsor, SelfCAD, for the support.

Sheffield University and Imperial College researchers are currently looking into the use of novel microstructures in prints to improve durability. They’ve uncovered possibilities in the use of crystallographic metamaterials for metal printing alloys with the use of computer atomic modelling. As a result of these crystal structures, the material itself comes out without grain boundaries, continuous […]

University Hospital of Basel, Switzerland, has entered into a 3D printing alliance with UK based medical technology firm axial3D. Focusing on quality control, the hospital is to introduce the axial3Dassure platform to its in-house 3D Print Lab. Through its application, axial3D promises to help to cut production times and maximize the efficiency of the facility’s 3D printed anatomical […]

The European Space Agency (ESA) and UK metallurgic company Metalysis have launched a €500,000-reward competition to devise systems that will aid space exploration. The competition is to design a process-monitoring system that works with Metalysis’s existing electrochemical cells. These cells convert refined oxides and ores into metal alloy powders, including those used in 3D printing […]

“3D printed models have been shown to help surgeons complete complex life-saving surgeries that would be otherwise impossible,” axial3D’s Ryan Kyle told 3DPrint.com. “University Hospital Basel’s new collaboration with axial3D will help to deliver high-quality 3D printed models much quicker than before.”

The hospital, which has about 7,000 people on staff, is northwest Switzerland’s biggest healthcare facility. Its 3D Print Lab uses patient image data to fabricate realistic anatomical models, and other objects, using a variety of different materials and 3D printing methods. Now it will be using axial3D’s new cloud-based platform, axial3Dassure, to support its 3D printing program.

[Image: University Hospital Basel]

By using axial3Dassure, USB will optimize its 3D Print Lab in order to provide a greater level of performance and patient care. The software, which has an end to end workflow, provides features like processing and quality management, so that hospitals and medical centers can meet their expanding business needs through its powerful analytics. The new axial3Dassure platform will also help support collaboration within the hospital’s 3D Print Lab with such features as email notifications and task-driven workflows.

Daniel Crawford, axial3D

“We are very excited to be working with the team at University Hospital Basel. They are a leading force in medical 3D printing, not just in Europe, but globally, and this alliance will ensure the expertise they have developed can support our company’s growth by informing the ongoing development of axial3D’s software solutions,” said axial3D’s CEO and Founder Daniel Crawford. “With a growing requirement for 3D printing within healthcare, a centralized management platform is necessary for any 3D print lab, which plans to scale and grow in the coming years. University Hospital Basel has taken strides in its commitment to improving outcomes for patients through technology advances in the form of this collaboration.

“Our software will help the hospital gain insight into the statistics and figures usually hidden within data, ultimately allowing them to measure clinical impact and value 3D printing is having for patients. The workflow management capability will allow the hospital to speed up the creation, processing, and delivery of 3D printed models, while ensuring auditability, reliability and standardization.”

By using axial3Dassure software, USB will be able to increase efficiency and improve compliance and productivity. The hospital’s 3D Print Lab, which includes over 20 desktop and industrial 3D printers, will now be better equipped to manage communication, quality control, tracking, and workflow management.

In addition, USB will benefit from the company’s orthopaedic auto-segmentation software module, which is embedded within the axial3Dassure platform. This module will help lower the amount of time that is typically required during pre-production of 3D printing orthopaedic models.

Finally, by partnering with axial3D, USB will be able to speed up the creation, processing, and delivery of its 3D printed surgical guides.

“Our initial focus for the use of 3D printed surgical guides was within the Department of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery where 3D printing has now become routine,” explained Philipp Brantner, Senior Physician of Radiology and the Co-Director of the 3D Print Lab at University Hospital Basel. “Having access to onsite printing has revolutionized how we treat those patients, some who arrive with life-threatening injuries that require immediate action. The functionality that we now get provided will allow us to speed up production and treat patients more effectively and efficiently.”

What do you think about this news? Discuss this story and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts in the Facebook comments below.

With all these new materials 3D printing is expanding into, it’s easy to forget the work done with the basics. Take PLA, for example: probably the most common and easy to use material on the market. There’s been a trend of taking PLA and giving it novel new characteristics and today’s story is no different. […]

New Years Eve Ball Drop
https://learn.adafruit.com/new-years-eve-ball-drop

Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!

Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!

In a thesis entitled “Optimizing 3D Printed Prosthetic Hand and Simulator,” author Stephen Estelle discusses an investigation of the use of an upper extremity prosthetic simulator for those who are not missing limbs – for example, for schools or research facilities. No standardized prosthetic simulator exists for these facilities, Estelle says. He discusses using 3D printing to modify the existing Hosmer 5X Prosthetic Hook by adding newly designed trusses.

“To continue to raise prosthesis satisfaction, the professionals who are assisting the users with the prosthetics need to be able test, redesign, and optimize prosthetics for their clients,” Estelle states. “If issues arise for amputees, such as profuse sweating, and the working professionals had the most efficient technology, then they could bring new changes to the prosthetic as swiftly as possible. This is imperative so that the necessary changes to the devices can be made promptly, accurately, and correctly.”

Priorities for prosthetic users, according to a survey, include:

increased functionality

natural interaction with the environment

reduced weight

higher grasping speed and forces

low noise

better cosmetic appearance

Estelle 3D scanned an existing Hosmer 5X Prosthetic Hook and then used the scans to create a 3D model from which he 3D printed several redesigned prototypes, aiming to create a prosthetic that would work well with a simulator.

“The trusses on the side of the newly designed model of the Hosmer 5X Hook were inspired by bridges and the truss system used for them,” he explains. “The purpose of the truss is to reduce any form of displacement of the prosthetic hook, as well to disperse the stress and strain that the prosthetic encounters throughout the device more evenly. The truss was designed to reduce any bending or twisting moment due to a force on the tip of the hook. By doing so, the prosthetic is able to withstand higher forces and reduce the buildup of maximum stress in certain locations.”

Estelle also designed a prosthetic simulator that could be attached to a user’s arm, and a small sample population of volunteers participated in a study using the simulator. The prosthetics and simulators were 3D printed on the Stratasys F270 and the MakerBot Replicator in PLA material.

Simulator iterations

“The two simulator positions were in front of the hand and below the hand, while the two different prosthetics were the original stainless-steel
Hosmer 5X Prosthetic Hook and a PLA 3D printed replica,” Estelle continues. “The two prosthetics weighed 5.5oz and 2.5oz respectively, and the only difference being the material and the additional M12-1.25 hex screw connected to the 3D printed replica.”

The four testing groups were:

in front of the hand with the original prosthetic

below the hand with the original prosthetic

in front of the hand with the replica

below the hand with the replica

The participants were required to perform a “Box and Blocks test” to measure manual dexterity using the prosthetics. A box with a partition in the middle was placed in front of each participant, with blocks on one side and an empty space on the other. The participants were required to move as many blocks as possible from one side to the other in one minute.

The participants wearing the 3D printed prosthetic did slightly better with the test than those wearing the original, possibly because the 3D printed prosthetic was more lightweight. The bottom prosthetic position also may have allowed the wearer to reach the blocks more quickly.

“These preliminary tests that were done in this study not only gave us insight on the prosthetic simulator position and the material choice for the prosthetic, it also gave us a better understanding on performing more accurate and reliable tests as we move forward and continue with this study,” says Estelle. “In the upcoming trials, the addition of a tracking system will be added to help us understand the body movements that go along with the simulator positions and the prosthetics being used.”

Discuss this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts below.